LIBRARY  OF  PRiNCtI 


JUL  1  8  2005    , 

i 

i 


THEOLOGICAL  SCiVlJNAf; 


BR139.L38  157  1885 

Installation  of  the  Rev 

F. 

Latimer,  Ph.  D. ,  D.D. , 

Professor  of 

Ecclesiastical  History 

Polity  on  May  6, 

.  J. 

and 

UNION  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  IN  VIRGINIA. 


INSTALLATION 

OF  THE 

Rev.J.F.LATIKI!,Ph.D.,D.D., 


AS 


PROFESSOR  OF  ECCLESIASTI^itL  HISTORY  AND  POLITY, 

Ok  May  (L  1885. 


ADDRESSES 

OJ 

The   Key.    R,  M.    WHITE,   D.  D., 

OF    V,'INCHE3TKE,   VA., 
AND  OF 

The    Ret.    Prof.   LATIMER. 


ALSO, 

ADDRESS  OF  THE  REV.  J.  J.  BULLOCK,  D.  D., 

OF    WASHINGTON,    D.   C, 

TO  THE  GRADUATING  CLASS  OF  1885. 


Published  by  request  of  the  Trustees. 


RICHMOND : 

WHITTET  &  SHEPPERSON,  *»R1NTKRS,  cor.   IOTH  AND  Mahj^Sts.- 

188S, 


(.i-^^ 


UNION  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  IN  VIRGINIA. 
INSTALLATION 

OF  THE 

Key.  J.  F.LATIMER,  Ph.  D.,D.D., 

AS 

PROFESSOR  OF  ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY  AXD  POLITY, 

Ox  Max  6,  1885. 


ADDRESSES 

OF 

The    Key.    H.    M.    WHITE,    D.  D. 

OF    WINCHESTER,   VA., 
AND  OF 

The    Key.    Prof.    LATIMER. 


ALSO, 

ADDRESS  OF  THE  RE\^  J.  J.  BULLOCK,  D.  D., 

OF    WASHINGTON,    D.   C, 

TO  THE  GRADUATIXG  CLASS  OF  1885. 


Published  by  request  of  the  Trustees,    f 

SEP   14  1992 
_jDGrca  %^^^- 

RICHMOND: 

Whittet  &  Shepperson,  Printers,  cor.  ioth  and  Main  Sts. 
1885. 


Introductory  Note. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  Union  Theological  Semi- 
nary, in  Virginia,  in  May,  1884,  the  Eev.  James  F.  Latbiee,  Ph.  D.,  D. 
D.,  then  a  pastor  in  MemiJiis,  Tenn.,  was  imanimously  elected  the  Pro- 
fessor of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Pohty.     He  accepted  the  j)osition. 

In  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Seminary 
(Ai*t.  II.,  §  5;  Art.  IV.,  §  2),  Dr.  Latuner  was,  on  the  6th  May,  1885,  "  m- 
ducted  into  office."  The  Rev.  Dr.  J.  J.  Bullock,  president  of  the  cor- 
poration, propomided  to  the  Professor-elect  the  constitutional  questions, 
and  the  Eev.  H.  M.  White,  D.  D.,  deUvered  to  him  the  charge;  after 
which  the  Professor  "dehvered  a  discoiu'se  appropriate  to  his  inaugu- 
ration, in  the  presence  of  the  Trustees  "  and  a  large  audience.  On  the 
same  day  President  Bullock  deUvered  to  the  Graduates  the  dij)lomas 
awarded  them  by  the  Trustees,  "o-ith  a  brief  addi-ess.  By  unanimous 
vote,  copies  of  these  several  addi'esses  were  requested,  and  are  fiu'nished 
for  pubhcation. 


CHANGE 

OF  THE   KEY.  DK.  H.  M.  WHITE   TO  EEV.   PKOFES- 
SOR  LATIMER. 


WHEN  Dr.  Chalmers  was  called  to  the  chair  of  Moral  Phil- 
osophy in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews,  a  plain  shoemaker 
in  his  congregation  is  said  to  have  remonstrated  earnestly  against 
his  going.  It  seemed  to  him  out  of  all  question  for  so  great  a 
preacher  to  exchange  a  congregation  of  a  thousand  souls  for  a 
class  of  boys  in  a  University.  The  Doctor,  having  great  respect 
for  the  opinion  of  his  humble  friend,  made  ineffectual  effort  to 
bring  him  to  see  the  matter  in  a  different  light,  until  he  put  this 
question  to  him :  "  Which  does  the  most  good,  the  man  who  makes 
the  salt  or  the  man  who  salts  the  sheep  ?"  His  f  i-iend  replied : 
■"  The  man  who  makes  the  salt."  "  Very  well,"  said  Dr.  Chalmers, 
^'  I  have  been  salting  you  sheep  in  Glasgow  for  several  years, 
and  now  I  go  to  St.  Andrews  to  make  salt  to  salt  all  the  sheep  in 
Scotland."     His  friend  seemed  convinced  by  the  argument. 

Yon  have  done  well,  my  brother,  in  leaving  your  large  church 
to  accept  a  chair  in  this  Seminary.  Here  you  will  teach  the 
preachers,  who  in  turn  will  teach  the  parents,  who  in  turn  will 
teach  all  the  children  in  our  Southern  Church.  Here  you  will 
teach  those  who  are  to  teach  the  Sabbath-school  teachers,  who  will 
teach  all  the  children  and  youth  in  reach  of  our  Southern  Church. 
Thus  you  will  do  a  work  that  shall  reach  all  the  souls  under  the 
influence  of  our  Church,  and  extend  from  generation  to  generation 
long  after  you  have  entered  into  rest.  A  comparison  of  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  the  labor  of  tlie  theological  professor  and  of  the 
minister  of  the  gospel  over  a  single  church  is  largely  in  favor  of 
the  former.  The  steam-engine  that  runs  fifty  looms  produces 
fifty  times  as  much  as  a  single  loom.  The  fountain  that  sends 
forth  fifty  rills  irrigates  fifty  times  as  much  as  a  single  rill. 


6  Installation  of  Professor  Latimer. 

It  may  be  objected  that,  while  this  is  true  of  him  who  teaches- 
Tlieology  proper,  or  of  those  wlio  teach  the  interpretation  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament  Scriptures,  yet  it  is  not  true  of  him  who 
teaches  Ecclesiastical  History;  for  our  ministers  make  but  little 
use  of  their  knowledge  of  this  subject.  This  objection  would  be 
formidable,  if  the  teaching  of  Church  History  consisted  in  sim- 
ply storing  the  mind  with  names,  dates  and  events.  This,  while 
important,  is  a  small  part  of  what  you  are  called  to  do.  A  mind 
full  of  facts,  yet  unaware  of  their  importance,  is  a  mere  table  of 
contents,  valuable  only  for  reference.  To  know  the  charactere 
that  have  ligured  in  history,  and  the  principal  events  with  which 
their  names  are  associated,  may  make  men  pedants,  but  not  much 
more.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  tlie  philosophy  of  history,  or 
history  systematized  and  presented  to  the  mind  as  a  connected 
whole.  Events  are  the  outcome  of  antecedent  causes,  and  the 
source  of  consequent  results.  To  know  how  to  trace  the  relation 
between  the  event  and  its  antecedents  on  the  one  hand,  and  its 
consequents  on  the  other — this  is  vital  to  the  proper  understandings 
of  history.  To  know  when  the  Papacy  arose,  and  where,  and 
who  were  the  conspicuous  agents  in  bringing  it  about;  who  was- 
the  first  Pope,  and  who  the  first  cardinals ;  this  is  something  of 
which  the  Protestant  minister  should  not  be  ignorant.  But  to  be 
able  to  trace  full-blown  Popery  to  its  root,  to  untM'ine  that  root 
from  the  secular  institutions  on  which  it  has  grown,  and  by  which 
it  has  been  supj)orted,  to  ascertain  when  and  where  the  seed  wa& 
first  planted  in  the  Church,  and  rightly  to  estimate  the  evils  of 
the  system — this  is  knowledge  inexpressibly  valuable.  To  know 
when  Scholasticism  arose  in  the  Church,  to  give  the  names  of  the 
first  scholastics,  and  their  writings,  is  important;  but  to  be  able  to 
trace  Scholasticism  to  its  rise  and  counterbahince  its  evil  by  its  good 
results,  this  is  far  more  important.  To  know  when  the  great  Refor- 
mation occurred,  the  countries  which  participated  in  it,  and  the 
names  of  the  principal  reformers,  should  be  on  the  fingers'  ends 
of  every  minister  of  the  gospel.  But  to  have  the  mind  so  trained 
that  we  can  follow  up  this  great  event  to  its  fountain  head,  show 
where  it  arose,  what  tributaries  emptied  into  it,  and  how  its  volume 
was  increased  until,  overflowing  its  banks,  it  subverted  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Church  and  society,  and  made  for  tlic  gospel  a  new  chan- 
nel in  the  world;  to  connect  this  great  event  with  all  its  antecedent 


Chakge  of  the  Eev,  Dr.  White.  T 

causes,  by  which  the  under-current  of  human  thought  and  feeling 
was  made  so  strong  and  influential ;  to  give  the  names  of  "  the  re- 
formers before  the  Reformation,"  and  show  how  Luther  and  Me- 
lancthon,  Zwingle  and  Beza  only  reaped  where  they  had  sown — 
this  is  the  task  of  the  true  historian,  and  this  is  wliat  you  are  to 
teach  those  w4io  pass  under  your  hand.  To  do  this  requires  pa- 
tience in  study  and  perseverance  in  thought.  The  other  method 
of  learning  history  is  simply  absorbing  information  like  a  sponge. 
It  neither  requires  much  mind  to  do  it,  nor  does  it  strengthen 
the  reasoning  faculty  in  doing  it.  To  know  the  fact,  as  Pascal 
tells  us,  that,  if  tlie  nose  of  Cleopatra  had  been  a  quar- 
ter of  an  inch  shorter,  the  face  of  the  world  would  have  been 
changed,  is  interesting ;  but  to  be  able  to  show  how  this  would 
have  resulted  from  disfiguring  that  fair  queen  were  a  task  worthy 
of  the  genius  of  Pascal  himself. 

Used  in  this  way  there  is  no  other  department  of  learning  open 
to  man  that  so  trains  the  mind  to  think,  and  at  the  same  time 
furnishes  it  with  the  materials  of  thouglit.  The  purpose  of  God 
in  his  goverimient  over  this  world  for  the  good  of  the  Church  is 
thus  brought  to  light.  Annals,  correctly  kept,  are  seen  to  be,  not 
a  "  chapter  of  accidents,"  but  the  growth  of  a  great  idea,  the  unfold- 
ing of  a  grand  scheme,  all  the  parts  of  which  are  united  in  one 
organic  whole.  "  History  is  fulfilled  prophecy  " — the  prophecy 
of  him  who  seeth  the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  whose  mighty 
hand  is  bringing  to  pass  all  that  is  included  in  his  all-comprehen- 
sive decree. 

Church  history  is  valuable  also  for  its  apologetic  force.  You 
must  be  familiar  with  the  reply  made  by  his  chaplain  to  Frederick 
the  Great  when  a^ked  for  a  short  and  conclusive  argument  in  sup- 
port of  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity,  viz  :  "  The  Jew,  sire,  the 
Jew,"  to  which  the  great  Frederick  bowed  assent.  This  argument 
is  drawn  of  course  from  the  history  of  the  Jews,  and  was  justly 
considered  satisfactory.  The  inspiration  of  the  Jewish  race  is  ac- 
cepted by  many  even  of  those  who  doul)t  or  deny  the  inspiration 
of  the  individuals  of  that  race.  The  hand  of  God  is  so  conspicu- 
ous in  their  origin,  their  history,  and  their  present  condition,  that 
all  see  it  who  are  not  wilfully  l;)lind.  The  same  is  true  of  Chris- 
tianity. On  the  Island  of  St.  Helena  General  Pertrand  asked 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  if  it  was  possible  that  one  of  his  great  and 


8  Installation  of  Professor  Latimer. 

independent  mind  could  believe  tliat  tlie  Jew — Jesus — was  the  son 
of  God,  The  great  Napoleon  replied  afhrniatively,  and  supported 
his  belief  by  one  of  the  most  striking  and  powerful  arguments  in 
the  Christian  evidences.  This  argument  is  drawn  entirely  from 
the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Besides  these  two  large 
departments — tlie  history  of  Judaism  and  that  of  Christianity — 
there  are  many  separate  chapters  which  carry  immense  force  with 
reflecting  minds.  Many  have  been  brought  from  unbelief  to  faitli 
by  the  narrative  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  from-  the  dead.  In- 
deed, this  is  justly  regarded  the  corner-stone  of  our  faith.  The 
Chiirch  of  Christ  is  built  upon  a  historical  fact ;  on  this  fact  it 
stands  or  falls.  The  conversion  of  Saul  of  Tarsus  furnishes  an- 
other chapter  in  ecclesiastical  history  which  is  admirably  adajDted 
to  convince  the  doubtful.  The  conmientator  Bengel  first  saw  the 
light  of  Christian  truth  on  the  road  to  Damascus.  No  enquirer 
after  truth,  who  has  a  fair  amount  of  honesty,  can  resist  the  force 
of  those  facts  about  liis  conversion  which  the  great  apostle  related 
so  often  and  so  effectively  in  his  preaching,  and  which  he  has  pre- 
served in  his  writings.  If  the  history  of  Judaism  alone  satisfied 
the  great  Frederick,  and  that  of  Christianity  alone  satisfied  the 
great  Napoleon,  how  much  force  would  there  be  in  an  argument 
drawn  from  these  two  large  volumes !  The  argument  that  will 
probably  convince  the  last  skeptic  on  the  earth  will  be  an  account  of 
the  conversion  of  the  Jewish  race,  and  their  re-engrafting  into 
the  stock  from  which  they  have  been  so  long  broken  oft'.  I  have 
long  thought  a  new  chapter  in  apologetics  might  be  opened  liere ; 
one  well  adapted  to  the  popular  mind,  readily  understood,  remem- 
bered without  difficulty,  and  increasing  in  force  from  age  to  age. 
I  see  from  the  press  that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Storrs,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
has  published  a  book  whicli,  from  its  title,  I  suppose  to  be  a  de- 
velopment of  this  idea,  but  I  have  not  yet  had  opportunity  to  ex- 
amine it. 

The  light  shed  by  ecclesiastical  history  on  the  aggressive  work 
of  the  Church  is  another  great  advantage  derived  from  its  study. 
The  Church  is  now  in  her  prime.  Never  before,  not  even  in  the 
post-apostolic  age,  was  her  internal  spirit  more  pui-e  or  powerful, 
nor  her  external  development  and  extension  more  rapid  and 
marked.  The  age  in  which  we  live  is  signalized  by  nothing  more 
than  the  progress  the  Protestant  Church  is  making  in  carrying 


Charge  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  AVhite.  9 

the  gospel  into  foreign  lands  and  winning  converts  to  Christ. 
Yet  is  there  division  in  her  counsels.  The  very  elementary  prin- 
<3iples  on  which  this  great  work  is  to  be  conducted  are  under  de- 
bate, and  the  workmen  work  in  the  dark.  Our  reviews  contain 
long  and  carefully  written  articles,  and  our  Assemblies  are  agi- 
tated by  earnest  discussions  on  the  question  of  the  relations  be- 
tween the  foreign  and  the  home  Church,  and  tlie  powers  and 
functions  of  the  officers  of  each.  Tiiis  is  surely  strange,  after  an 
experience  of  eighteen  centuries.  One  would  think  we  could 
learn  from  the  conversion  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  the 
great  German  nations,  how  to  convert  the  heathen  in  China  and 
Africa.  The  Reformation  ought  to  show  us  how  to  convert  the 
Roman  Catholic  countries  of  South  America  and  Mexico.  Includ- 
ing the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  in  ecclesiastical  history,  there  is  a 
sense  in  which  it  is  true  that  "  we  Iiave  but  one  lamp  by  which  to 
guide  our  feet,  and  that  is  the  lamp  of  experience."  And  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  Professor  of  Church  History  to  hold  up  this  lamp 
before  the  Church  for  the  guidance  of  those  who  go  far  hence  to 
the  Gentiles. 

Here  also  we  see  why  ecclesiastical  history  and  polity  are  united 
in  your  department.  If  the  tree  may  surely  be  known  by  its 
fruits,  then  we  may  learn  from  history  which  of  the  four  forms  of 
polity  in  the  visible  Church  exerts  the  liapjjiest  influence  on  society 
and  the  governments  of  earth,  and  which,  therefore,  must  be  more 
nearly  in  accordance  with  the  mind  of  God.  Here  we  should  find 
the  bitter  fruits  of  Popery,  the  blunders  of  Prelacy,  the  feeble- 
ness of  Independency,  and  the  conserving  and  uplifting  power  of 
Presbytery.  Here  we  should  learn  which  Church  has  furnished 
the  martyrs  and  the  literature  to  the  world,  and  which  has  done 
most  to  unfetter  the  human  mind  and  give  wings  to  thought. 

In  view  of  the  importance  of  ecclesiastical  history  and  polity 
seen  in  the  foregoing  facts,  and  many  others  that  might  be  given, 
in  the  name  of  the  Board  of  Directors  who  have  called  you  to  the 
work  of  teaching  our  candidates  for  the  gospel  ministry,  I  charge 
you  to  give  yourself  wholly  to  this  woj'k.  You  have  not  been 
called  to  a  life  of  literary  leisure,  to  spend  your  time  luxuriating 
in  the  writings  of  the  best  thinkers  on  those  subjects  which  are 
most  congenial  to  your  taste;  nor  to  write  books,  nor  review 
articles,  nor  articles  for  the  newspapers;  not  even  to  preach  the 


10  Installation  of  Professor  Latimer. 

gospel.  The  scraps  of  your  time  may  be  given  to  tliese  things, 
but  the  body  of  it  must  be  sacredly  devoted  to  the  hard  study  of 
the  text-books  and  literature  pertaining  to  your  work.  Learn  to 
say  with  the  apostle,  "This  (me  thing  I  do."  Carry  your  work  on 
your  mind  all  the  day;  take  it  to  bed  with  you  at  night;  awake 
with  it  on  your  mind  in  the  morning.  Study  church  history  and 
polity  always.  Be  an  enthusiast  in  your  department.  This  is  a 
much  abused  word — enthusiasm  ;  but  the  thing  is  indispensable  to 
success  in  any  undertaking.  We  have  all  known  men  to  succeed 
in  life  without  great  intellect  or  extensive  learnhig,  and  in  spite 
of  many  and  serious  hindrances,  growing  out  of  time,  place  and 
circumstance;  but  no  one  was  ever  known  to  succeed  at  any- 
thing without  enthusiasm.  It  is  especially  necessary  in  your  call- 
ing, not  only  to  stir  your  own  mind  up  to  diligence  and  perse- 
verance, but  also  to  diffuse  its  ardor  into  the  minds  of  those  whom 
you  teach.  Without  it  your  work  will  be  a  task  and  burden  to 
yourself,  and  but  little  profitable  to  those  under  your  care.  Study 
the  art  of  teaching.  For  teaching  is  an  art — as  much  so  as 
sculpture  or  painting,  music  or  architectnre.  It  is  an  art  of  tlie 
finest  kind.  Other  artists  handle  stone,  or  wood,  or  metal,  hut 
you  are  to  handle  mind.  Their  work  must  decay  in  time.  But 
the  tracery  which  your  mind  in  its  working  is  to  leave  on  the 
minds  of  your  pupils  shall  endure  for  ever.  The  force  which  you 
are  to  impart  to  them  is  to  live  and  move  other  minds  for  good  or 
evil  for  ever.  If  lie  who  carves  a  statue  or  paints  a  landscape 
spends  years  in  study,  goes  abroad  and  spends  money  without 
stint,  in  order  to  perfect  himself  in  his  art,  how  much  more  should 
you  be  regardless  of  the  time  and  labor  spent  in  learning  yours  ? 
If  the  sculptor  lays  the  edge  of  his  chisel  upon  the  rude  marble 
with'  the  utmost  precision  and  painstaking  care,  how  should  you 
tremble  as  you  approach  the  minds  of  the  uncultured  youth  whom 
you  are  to  fasliion  into  vessels  of  honor  for  the  Master's  use ! 
The  art  of  teaching  is  susceptible  of  the  highest  improvement. 
Of  this  we  have 'ample  evidence  in  the  progress  made  in  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  both  in  this  country  and  in  Germany.  Teach- 
ing is  not  now  a  pounding  of  knowledge  into  the  mind,  but  a 
stimulating  and  guiding  the  mind  to  learn  how  to  think  and  dis- 
cover truth  for  itself.  The  art  of  tli inking  is  worth  ten  thousand 
thoughts.     And  this  is  pleasant.     There  is,  as  another  has  said. 


Charge  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  White.  11 

*'an  exquisite  kind  of  laughter  that  comes  from  the  exercise  of 
the  reasoning  faculties."  The  scliolars  who  have  been  going 
through  this  exercise  in  the  school-room  come  out  with  glowing- 
countenances  as  from  a  gymnasium.  There  have  been  but  few- 
masters  of  the  art  of  teaching,  as  there  liave  been  of  other  arts. 
Socrates  was  a  master.  Dr.  Arcliibald  Alexander  is  said  to  have 
been  a  master.  Yet  excellence  is  certainly  attainable  by  all  who 
have  good  capacity  to  acquire  knowledge  and  some  facility  in  im- 
parting it  to  others. 

I  charge  you  to  realize  your  dependence  on  the  Holy  Gliost,  and 
to  seek  his  help  daily  in  humble  and  importunate  prayer.  The 
Paraclete  walks  by  the  side  of  every  believer,  to  give  him  help  in 
every  walk  in  life.  This  is  his  office-work.  He  aided  Bezaleel 
and  Aholiab  in  all  manner  of  work  for  the  sanctuary  in  the  wilder- 
ness, by  putting  wisdom  and  understanding  into  their  hearts.  He 
walks  by  the  side  of  the  humble  minister  of  the  gospel  in  his  little 
village  church.  How  much  more  shall  He  put  wisdom  and  under- 
standing into  your  heart,  to  do  the  great  work  to  which  you  are 
called !  How  the  Holy  Ghost  does  this  work  is  a  mystery  as 
great  as  the  incarnation.  We  may  never  understand  it  in  this  life. 
He  certainly  brings  things  to  our  remembrance,  for  we  are  ex- 
pressly told  so  in  at  least  one  instance.  If  he  may  aid  the  repro- 
ductive faculty  of  the  mind,  why  may  he  not  also  aid  the  percep- 
tive faculty  ?  and  the  creative  faculty  ?  Why  may  he  not  guide 
the  judgment  and  quicken  the  intuitions?  The  whole  economy  of 
the  human  mind  may  be,  and  doubtless  is,  under  His  control. 

"  Wherefore  let  your  voice 
Rise,  like  a  fountain,  night  and  day." 

We  preachers  go  from  our  knees  to  the  pulpit,  and  you,  professors, 
should  go  from  your  knees  to  the  class-room.  "  The  meek  will 
he  guide  in  judgment;  the  meek  will  he  show  His  way." 

I  charge  you  to  love  your  pupils.  This  may  sound  common- 
place to  some,  and  too  sentimental  to  others.  It  may  be  thought 
more  appropriate  in  an  address  to  a  company  of  Sabbath-school 
teachers.  I  hope  you  do  not  think  so,  my  brother.  You  must 
have  learned  by  experience  that  the  most  common-place  texts  in 
the  Bible  and  the  most  common-place  matters  in  life  are  the  most 
important,  and  cannot  be  neglected  without  the  most  serious  con- 


12  Installation  of  Professor  Latimer. 

sequences.  Your  catalogue  states  that  you  and  your  colleagues 
are  "the  pastors  of  the  students,  and  accessible  on  all  proper  occa- 
sions, to  give  them  counsel  on  their  spiritual  interests."  A  pastor, 
as  you  well  know,  cannot  get  the  ear  of  his  flock  unless  he  loves 
them.  A  stranger  will  they  not  follow.  These  young  men  need 
counsel.  Satan's  darts  fly  thick  and  fast  among  them.  They  who 
are  to  be  the  leaders  of  the  host  draw  his  Are.  Moreover,  fervent 
piety  is  the  first  great  requisite  for  a  minister  of  the  gospel. 
Therefore,  by  afi'ectionate  counsel  and  example  seek  to  promote  it 
in  them.  Nor  will  you  succeed  in  teaching  them  without  love  as 
with  it.  The  parent  is  the  best  teacher,  because  he  loves  most. 
Our  Lord  could  teach  the  Pharisees  nothing,  because  they  had  no 
faith  in  his  love.  Words  may  be  the  vehicle  in  which  ideas  are 
conveyed  from  mind  to  mind,  but  love  is  the  luminous  medium 
through  which  it  travels. 

"Oh!  'tis  love,  'tis  love, 'tis  love, 
That  makes  this  world  go  round." 

These  simple  rules,  laid  to  heart,  will  fill  your  career,  as  professor 
in  this  Seminary,  with  comfort  for  yourself,  and  make  it  a  blessing 
to  the  Church  and  to  the  world. 


PROFESSOR  LATIMER^S  ADDRESS. 


Mk.  Pkesident  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Boakd  of  Trustees  : 

I  AM  duly  sensible,  I  trust,  of  the  importance  of  the  task  you 
have  to-day  formally  committed  to  my  hands;  gnd.  no  less 
sensible  am  I  of  its  difficulty. 

He  who  reads  history  merely  as  a  chronicle  of  events  in  their 
outward  relations  may  amuse  his  leisure  hours  as  with  a  book  of 
stories,  finding  in  the  recital  of  the  deeds  of  heroes,  the  growth, 
the  decline,  and  the  fall  of  empires,  an  interest  akin  to  that 
awakened  by  the  novel.  But  the  true  student  of  history  knows 
that  the  story  of  the  past,  read  simply  as  the  narrative  of  events, 
is  not  history.  The  problem  which  presents  itself  to  him  is  not 
merely,  What  are  the  facts  ?  but.  What  are  the  inner  relations  of 
the  facts?  He  recognizes  it  as  his  task  to  trace  effects  to  their 
causes,  and  to  read  the  character  and  importance  of  the  causes  in 
their  effects.  He  knows  that  not  always  that  which  is  obtrusive 
and  on  the  surface,  but  often  what  is  obscure  and  easily  escapes 
attention,  because  of  its  apparent  insignificance,  is  the  really  ef- 
ficient and  determining  factor.  On  the  pages  of  the  cotempo- 
raneous  chronicler,  he  must  study  a  picture,  which,  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  is  more  or  less  defective  in  perspective.  He 
finds  there  related,  in  minutest  detail  it  may  be,  what  was  suited 
to  appeal  to  the  imagination,  or  to  the  passions  of  the  times,  while 
he  is  left,  more  often  than  otherwise,  to  discover  in  mere  hints 
and  incidental  statements  the  true  explanation  of  the  course  of 
events,  and  therefore  the  true  history  of  the  period  which  he  in- 
vestigates. Or  if  he  commit  himself  to  the  guidance  of  those 
who  have  made  a  critical  study  of  the  sources,  and  have  left  on 
record  the  product  of  their  labors,  he  finds  them  difi'ering  often 
in  their  interpretations,  so  that  their  books  prove  to  be  only  im- 
perfect and  partial  presentations  of  the  subject,  in  the  cross  lights 
of  which  he  must  seek  to  discover  the  truth  hidden  from  the  gaze 


14  Installation  of  Professor  Latimek, 

of  each  and  all.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  history,  in  all  its  de- 
partments, presents  one  of  the  most  diflficult  subjects  of  human 
investigation.  But  most  difficult  of  all,  as  I  conceive,  is  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church.  For  while,  in  secular  history,  there  is  this 
obscure  factor,  often  so  controlling  in  its  influence  upon  the  move- 
ment of  events,  it  is  still  a  natural  element,  and  traceable  to  or- 
dinary human  motives;  but  in  the  history  of  the  Church  there  is 
another  factor  in  addition,  far  more  obscure  and  difficult  to  deal 
with,  inasmuch  as  it  is  due  to  a  life  superhuman  in  its  origin,  and 
at  the  same  time  a  life  which  resides,  not  in  the  entire  visible 
body,  but  in  the  bosoms  of  individuals  known  with  certainty  only 
to  God,  constituting  the  invisible  or  true  Church  of  God.  From 
the  very  nature  of  the  case,  this  influence  thus  exerted  cannot  be 
studied  directly,  but  only  indirectly.  We  can  never  know,  be- 
yond all  question,  that  any  particular  actions  of  any  given  indi- 
viduals are  the  fruit  of  the  indwelling  Spirit;  but  we  are  left  to 
detect  in  the  cumulative  results  of  many  minor  influences  those 
tendencies  and  movements  which  can  be  explained  only  by  the 
presence  of  this  divine  life. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  with  hesitation  I  should  undertake  the 
discussion  of  a  topic  connected  with  ecclesiastical  history,  were  I 
free  to  choose  a  subject  of  a  different  character.  But  your  com- 
mand that  I  shall  deliver  a  discourse  appropriate  to  my  induction 
into  the  office  of  Professor  in  this  Institution,  leaves  me  no 
option.  I  have  thought  therefore  that,  imperfect  as  the  presen- 
tation must  of  necessity  be,  it  would  be  both  interesting  and  pro- 
iitable  to  consider 

The  Influence  of  the  Invisible  upon  the  Visible  Church  in  the 
Development  of  her  Creed  in  Dogmatic  Form.. 

The  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  are  in  them- 
selves complete,  and  adeijuate  to  the  end  for  which  the  revelation 
they  contain  was  given.  They  teach  us  fully  and  finally  what  we 
are  to  believe  concerning  God,  They  give  us  all  the  information 
we  need  for  our  highest  interests  concerning  man's  origin  and  his 
first  estate ;  they  explain  his  condition  of  sin  and  misery,  and  dis- 
cover, in  all  their  fulness  and  completeness,  the  means  and  methods 
■of  his  recovery,  in  its  inception,  progress  and  consummation.    As 


Professor  Latimer's  Address.  15 

nothing  may  be  taken  from  them,  so  may  nothing  be  added  to 
them. 

But  although  the  truth  is  thus  revealed  in  the  very  words  of 
God,  so  that  all  the  doctrines  which  relate  to  the  salvation  of  the 
soul  are  in  the  Scriptures  in  their  entirety,  and,  as  there  given, 
adapted  to  become  the  basis  of  a  living  faith,  yet  they  are  not  set 
forth  in  their  scientific  form  and  relations. 

Xow,  it  was  inevitable  that  the  time  would  come  when  the  pro- 
cess must  begin,  of  giving  to  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  systematic 
shape  in  explicit  creeds.  As  man  is,  in  every  other  sphere,  a  phil- 
osopher, such  must  he  become,  sooner  or  later,  in  his  interpreta- 
tion of  the  oracles  of  God ;  and  as  God's  truth  in  nature  is  capable 
of  being  so  systematized  as  to  satisfy  that  ruling  passion,  if  I  may 
so  speak,  of  the  intellect  for  order  and  logical  arrangement,  so  is 
God's  truth,  as  revealed  in  the  Word.  And  to  the  Visible  Church, 
entrusted  from  the  beginning  with  the  oracles  themselves,  was  the 
important  office  committed  of  presiding  over  the  formulation  of 
the  truth  in  scientific  statements.  But  the  Church,  neither  as  a 
whole  nor  in  any  of  her  individual  members,  was  inspired,  as  were 
the  holy  men  of  old,  wdio  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  What  safeguard  was  there,  then,  against  the  final  adop- 
tion of  thof^e  errors  which  were  sure  to  be  developed  should  the 
spirit  of  speculation  be  left  to  its  natural  tendencies  in  the  process 
of  dogmatic  explication  ?  We  shall  find  that  safeguard,  I  believe, 
in  the  witness  of  the  Invisible  Church.  Every  member  of  that 
body,  in  all  the  ages,  has  been  the  subject  of  the  Holy  Spirit's 
almighty  working.  The  hearts  of  all  have  been  renewed  by  his 
agency,  and  their  eyes  opened  to  apprehend  the  truth  as  contained 
in  the  Word  of  God.  This  truth  has  been  so  wrought  into  the 
gracious  experiences  of  this  chosen  people,  who  in  the  darkest  days 
have  never  entirely  perished  from  the  earth,  as  to  make  their  col- 
lective influence,  sooner  or  later,  an  efiicient  check  upon  those  ten- 
dencies of  speculation.  If  we  turn  to  the  history  of  the  Church 
we  shall  find  abundant  evidence  of  the  fact  that,  in  all  the  centu- 
ries, the  experience  of  God's  people  has  opposed  its  postulates  to 
dogmatic  error,  and  has  thus  been  a  negative  guide  to  the  Church 
in  the  formuktion  of  her  creed.  Although  the  conflict  in  which 
they  have  earnestly  contended  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints  presents  many  different  aspects,  and  their  witness  is  some- 


16  Installation  of  Professor  Latimer. 

times  obscured  and  rendered  uncertain  by  the  form  in  which  the 
issue  is  presented,  yet  their  voice  has  never  been  hushed ;  and 
although  ages  may  have  passed  before  the  iinal  result  has  been 
reached,  yet  it  has  always  been  the  same  result — the  triumph  of 
the  truth. 

You  will  recall  the  fact,  that  the  first  great  problem  which  pre- 
sented itself  for  solution  in  the  early  Church  was  that  concerning 
the  Trinity.  The  form  in  which  it  challenged  attention  was  in 
the  question.  How  shall  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures  in  respect 
to  the  Unity  of  the  Godhead  and  the  Divinity  of  the  Son  be  recon- 
ciled with  each  other  ? 

"Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord  thy  God  is  one  God,"  is  the  decla- 
ration alike  of  Him  whose  voice  was  heard  above  the  thunders  of 
Sinai,  and  of  the  Son  who  came  to  reveal  the  Father.  And  yet,  of 
the  Son  himself  it  is  said,  "In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God,  and  tlie  Word  was  God." 

Now,  since  philosophy  knew  no  numerical  identity  of  Essence 
consistent  -with  plurality  of  Persons,  she  must  either  be  dumb  in 
the  presence  of  the  prol)lem  she  had  raised,  or  find  some  explana- 
tion of  the  Divinity  of  the  Son  which  would  not  imply  a  person- 
ality distinct  from  that  of  the  Father. 

The  first  solution  of  the  problem  given  was  tliat  the  Son  of  God 
is  not  a  Divine  Permn,  but  only  a  Divine  Energu  manifested  in 
and  through  the  man,  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

But  although  such  a  solution  might  satisfy  human  philosophy, 
it  could  not  satisfy  the  Christian  heart,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
the  faith  begotten  of  the  Spirit  in  every  child  of  God  is  no  mere 
assent  to  a  formula,  but  it  is  trust  in  a  Divine  Person.  From  first 
to  last,  it  lays  hold  upon  that  Divine  Person,  as  revealed  in  the 
Word  of  God  illumined  by  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  more,  it  is  the 
Divine  Person  who  is  at  once  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Son  of  Man — 
he  whose  name  was  called  Jesus  because  he  should  save  his  people 
from  their  sins.  Therefore,  no  statement  which  represented  the 
Divine  in  Jesus  as  a  mere  impersonal  energy  of  God  could  harmo- 
nize with  the  experience  of  God's  people.  That  statement  could, 
in  consequence,  find  no  permanent  place  in  their  crGed,  nor  in  that 
of  the  Church  which  was  the  outward  manifestation  of  theii"  life. 
Another  formula  must  be  found  which  should  distinctly  recognize 


Address  of  Professor  Latimer.  17 

the  Divine  Personality  of  the  Son.  Then  philosophy  proposed  a 
second  solution,  still  maintaining,  however,  as  a  fundamental  pos- 
tulate, that,  as  there  is  one  God,  there  can  be  only  one  Divine  Per- 
son. It  was  this:  The  Divine  Person,  acting  in  a  certain  capacity, 
and  under  certain  circumstances,  is  called  the  Father;  acting  in 
another  capacity,  and  under  other  circumstances,  he  is  called  the 
So7i;  so  that  the  Son  is  only  the  Father  manifesting  himself  in 
another  character  and  under  another  mode. 

But  the  faith  of  the  true  Christian  lays  hold  upon  the  Father 
no  less  than  upon  the  Son,  and  postulates  his  distinct  personality 
no  less  than  that  of  the  Son.  In  the  light  of  the  truth  applied  by 
the  Spirit,  it  recognizes  him  as  reconciled  in  the  Son ;  as  accepting 
the  believer  through  the  Son ;  as  adopting  him  as  his  child  and  as 
joint-heir  with  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  Son.  And,  therefore,  no 
statement  which  denied  to  the  Father  a  personality  distinct  from 
that  of  the  Son  could  meet  the  needs  of  the  Christian  heart.  It 
too  must  yield  at  length  before  the  persistent  practical  protest  of 
the  people  of  God,  and  was  finally  rejected  as  not  only  inadequate 
but  false. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  pursue  this  line  of  illustration 
farther,  through  all  that  period  of  controversy,  until  at  length  spec- 
ulation was  compelled  to  adjust  itself  to  the  postulates  of  the  ex- 
perience of  the  faithful  on  every  point,  and  the  invisible  Church 
triumphed  in  the  adoption,  on  the  part  of  the  visible  Church,  of 
that  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  which  we  profess  to-day,  that  "  in  the 
unity  of  the  Godhead  there  be  three  persons,  of  one  substance, 
power,  and  eternity — God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  Father  is  of  none,  neither  begotten  nor  pro- 
ceeding ;  the  Son  is  eternally  begotten  of  the  Father ;  the  Holy 
Ghost  eternally  proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son." 

The  history  of  tlie  controversy  concerning  the  person  of  Christ 
— the  relations  of  tlie  divine  and  human  in  him — also  reveals  to 
us  this  regulative  influence  of  the  Christian  consciousness  upon 
speculation,  and  we  find  the  invisible  Church  triumphing  again, 
albeit  after  a  conflict  and  a  series  of  protests  extending  over  cen- 
turies, in  the  incorporation  in  the  creed  of  a  statement  harmonious 
with  the  truth  in  all  its  aspects,  to-wit :  "  That  two  whole,  perfect, 
and  distinct  natures,  the  Godhead  and  the  manhood,  were  insep- 
arably joined  together  in  one  person,  without  conversion,  composi- 


18  Installation  of  Professor  Latimer. 

tion,  or  confusion — which  person  is  very  God  and  very  man,  yet 
one  Christ,  the  only  mediator  between  God  and  man." 

As  we  pursue  our  investigation  in  search  of  evidence  of  the  in- 
fluence of  the  invisible  Church  in  preventing  the  final  adoption  of 
error  in  the  fornuilated  creed,  we  discover  a  fact  no  little  perplex- 
ing, namely,  the  sudden  arrest  of  progress  when  the  point  is  reached 
at  which  we  should-cxpect  tlie  full  development  of  the  doctrines  of 
grace.  We  find,  it  is  true,  a  noble  beginning  made  by  Augustine, 
who,  in  opposition  to  the  errors  of  Pelagins,  sets  forth  in  its  final 
form  the  doctrine  of  man's  inability,  and  the  consequent  absolute 
necessity  of  divine  grace  in  order  to  the  inception  and  growth  of 
the  new  life  in  the  soul — a  doctrine  whicli,  from  that  day  to  this, 
has  found  its  ample  justification  in  the  experience  of  the  saints. 
But  jnst  licre  the  movement  ceases.  There  are  hints,  it  must  be 
admitted,  in  the  wi-itings  of  Augustine,  and  in  those  of  other  fa- 
thers, which  look  to  the  explicit  statement  of  the  doctrine  of  jus- 
tification by  faith,  which  alone  explains  the  method  by  which  the 
soul  is  brought  within  the  sphere  of  the  gracious  influences  of  the 
Holj^  Spirit ;  but  there  are  hints  and  no  more.  Nor  is  this  a 
mere  temporary  pause  in  the  process  of  scientific  formulation. 
For  one  thousand  years  the  work  stands  arrested  practically  where 
Augustine  left  it. 

This  phenomenon,  so  strange  at  first  sight,  loses  its  abnormal 
aspect,  however,  as  our  study  of  the  facts  reveals  to  us  the  insidi- 
ous growth  of  error,  not  in  formulated  dogma,  but  error  no  less 
efiicient  for  evil,  because  operating  only  in  practice  at  first,  and, 
for  ages  afterwards,  so  undefined  and  ambiguous  in  its  character 
as  to  elude  the  full  force  of  the  protest  of  the  true  saints  of  God 
in  the  Clmrch. 

As  we  look  back  from  our  standing  point,  we  see  what  the  real 
nature  of  that  error  was,  and  in  the  light  of  that  knowledge  we 
discover  the  cause  of  this  sudden  arrest  of  progress  of  the  creed 
to  its  completion. 

It  is  a  familiar  fact  tliat,  long  before  the  time  of  Augustine,  the 
original  constitution  of  the  Church  had  been  perverted,  and 
changed  from  the  Presbyterian  to  the  Prelatical  form ;  and  that, 
connected  with  the  elevation  of  some  of  tlie  bishops  above  their 


Addeess  of  Pkufessok  Latimer.  19 

fellow  bishops  or  presbyters,  the  entire  body  of  the  so-called 
clergy  had  come  to  be  regarded  as  a  class  distinct  from,  and  su- 
perior to,  the  people.  It  was  no  longer  a  ministry,  the  etilores- 
ce:ice  of  tlie  universal  priesthood  of  believers;  but  became  hence- 
forth a  proper  priesthood,  superseding  that  only  God-ordained 
priesthood  upon  the  earth.  From  that  time  did  this  priesthood 
of  man's  invention  arrogate  to  itself  more  and  more  the  right 
to  stand  l)etween  believers  and  God,  and  to  constitute  the  only 
channel  through  which  grace  could  be  communicated  to  them. 
The  sacraments  which  it  administered  were  the  only  means  of 
salvation,  since  through  them  alone  was  grace  given.  Faith 
no  longer  l>rought  the  soul  into  direct  gelations  with  the  Son  of 
God  ;  it  brought  men  to  the  church, — that  is,  to  the  priest, — to 
receive  the  sacraments.  In  baptism  administered  by  those  holy 
hands,  the  habit  of  grace,  or  spiritual  life,  was  infused  ;  confirma- 
tion gave  increase  of  that  life;  by  the  eucharist  it  was  renewed 
and  strengthened  ;  and  by  penance  recruited  from  the  eifects  of 
sin.  Thus  by  priestly  manipulation  was  an  inherent  righteousness 
so-called  communicated,  fostered,  and  developed ;  and  it  was  this 
righteousness  which  was  supposed  to  secure  the  favor  of  God. 
Christ's  righteousness  was,  it  is  true,  the  remote  cause  of  the  be- 
liever's justification,  but  only  as  the  merits  of  that  righteousness 
secured,the  operation  of  the  scheme  by  which  tlie  Church,  through 
her  priesthood,  rendered  men  inherently  holy,  and  made  the  fruits 
of  the  life  conferred  meritorious.  It  was  the  merit  of  this  in- 
herent righteousness  whicli  became,  in  each  individual  case,  the 
immediate  ground — the  formal  cause — of  justification.  This  is 
the  Komish  scheme  in  its  full  development,  but  which,  in  all  its 
essential  features,  became  operative  two  hundred  years  before  the 
time  of  Augustine,  and  the  influence  of  which  was  more  or  less 
felt  in  that  early  pei-iod  of  the  Church. 

Xeed  I  say  that  it  was  in  effect  a  method  of  j astification  ly 
works  ?  It  matters  not  that  the  new  life  supposed  to  be  begotten 
and  nurtured  in  the  soul  was  implanted  and  sustained  by  grace ;  it 
was  still  the  meri^  of  the  fruits  borne  by  that  life  which  rendered 
a  man  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God.  Christ's  righteousness, 
and  the  merit  of  it,  became,  in  no  sense,  the  individual  possession 
of  the  soul.  What  place  was  there  then  foi-  the  doctrine  of 
justification   by  faith,   which    appropriates    the    righteousness   of 


20  Installation  of  Professor  Latimer. 

Christ  and  rests  upon  the  merits  of  that  alone  for  acceptance  with 
God  ?     There  was  none.     It  was  exchided  by  the  law  of  works. 

Now,  this  subtile  system  of  salvation  by  works,  under  the  name 
of  salvation  by  grace,  being  thus  built  into  the  very  structure  of 
the  Church  and  of  her  worship,  could  not,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  but  prevent  the  formulation  of  the  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith  as  an  article  of  her  creed.  What  Augustine  had  taught 
concerning  the  absolute  need  of  grace  might  be  harmonized  with 
the  sacerdotal  system  of  salvation;  nay,  might  be,  and  was,  re- 
garded as  demonstrating  the  urgent  necessity  of  grace  conferred 
ex  opere  ojjerato,  and  therefore  no  hindrance  lay  in  the  way  of  its 
incorporation  with  the  ci:eed;  but  far  otherwise  was  it  with  justi- 
fication by  faith. 

It  naturally  suggests  itself  to  us  here  to  inquire,  Why  was  the 
doctrine  of  justification  l)y  works,  thus  shown  to  lie  implicitly  in 
the  theory  and  practice  of  the  Church,  not  explicitly  stated  and 
adopted  as  part  of  her  creed  ? 

It  is  a  most  significant  fact  that  it  was  not ;  and  the  explanation 
of  it  recalls  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  efficiency  of  the  invisible 
Church  within,  and  upon,  the  visible  body.  You  will  recollect  that 
we  found  that  this  influence  was  felt  in  the  Trinitarian  controversy, 
not  as  a  positive,  but  as  a  negative,  influence;  as  a  restraint  upon 
the  final  adoption  of  error  in  dogmatic  form.  There  error  pre- 
sented in  distinct  statements  appeared  over  and  over  again  before 
the  tribunal  of  Christian  consciousness,  and  as  such  was  as  often 
condemned ;  but  in  every  instance  the  error  lay  largely  in  defect 
and  inadequacy  of  conception.  Always  there  was  truth  em- 
phasized, although  exaggerated  in  some  aspect  of  it  so  as  to  ex- 
clude other  truths.  Now,  it  was  these  elements  of  truth,  too  ex- 
clusively contemplated  though  they  were,  which  in  each  case 
gave  such  plausibility  to  the  conception  as  to  secure  its  being  en- 
tertained temporarily  at  least  by  those  whose  experience  subse- 
quently condemned  it.  Thus  these  conceptions  were  one  after 
another  enunciated,  though  they  were  finally  abandoned,  before 
the  protest  of  the  people  of  God,  as  inadequate.  Not  so,  however, 
with  the  postulates  which  underlay  this  sacerdotal  method  of  justi- 
fication and  salvation  which  I  have  described.  Those  postulates 
could  not  be  expressed  in  dogmatic  statement  without  revealing 
fundamental  error  in  the  whole  and  in  every  part.     But  the  true 


Address  of  Pkofessor  Latimer.  21 

Israel  of  God  was  still  within  this  visible  Church,  and  still  clinging 
to  her  with  reverence  and  devotion  as  the  Bride  of  the  Lord;  and 
the  presence  of  the  members  of  this  invisible  communion  of  saints 
constituted,  under  the  providence  of  God,  an  efficient  check  upon 
the  Church's  final  and  complete  apostasy  in  the  distinct  enuncia- 
tion and  formal  adoption  of  the  error  logically  involved  in  her 
practice  and  worship.  Thus,  while  the  energies  of  the  invisible 
Church  were  apparently  paralyzed,  they  were  really  operative  in 
the  exertion  of  a  powerful  restraining  influence. 

But  we  must  not  suppose  that  this  divine  life  in  the  elect  peo- 
ple of  God  was  without  more  positive  manifestation  of  its  exis- 
tence and  efficiency.  For  altliough  the  practical  perversion  of 
the  truth  by  the  Church  with  which  they  still  remained  in  com- 
munion reacted  upon  those  who  were  the  subjects  of  divine  grace, 
and  in  turn  hindered  them  from  giving  legitimate  expression,  in 
explicit  form,  to  the  great  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  yet 
there  are  abundant  indications  that  they  did  not  acquiesce  in  the 
error,  veiled  and  hidden  though  it  was. 

Allow  me  to  point  you,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  dissatisfaction 
manifested  at  so  early  a  period,  and  growing  greater  so  constantly 
down  to  the  Reformation  itself,  with  the  practical  results,  in  the 
lives  of  multitudes,  of  that  scheme  of  so-called  grace  and  salvation. 
I  need  not  pause  here  to  prove  to  this  audience  the  fact,  nor  to 
explain  it,  that  a  system  of  work-righteousness  always  does,  and 
always  must,  bear  the  fruits  of  antinomianism  and  ungodliness. 
So  it  was  here.  From  the  time  that  the  Church  began  to  dispense 
her  sacramental  grace  as  the  basis  of  an  inherent  righteousness, 
did  those  who  acquiesced  in  it  begin  to  find  encouragement  to  sin 
that  grace  might  abound.  It  was  man's  method  of  salvation  by 
grace  which  is  no  more  grace,  and  it  bore  its  appropriate  fruit  in 
legitimating  sin  and  making  men  tenfold  more  tlie  children  of  the 
devil  than  they  were  before. 

Now  those  who  had  really  experienced  the  grace  of  God  in 
their  hearts,  although  they  did  not  recognize  the  root  of  the  evil, 
knew  that  these  fruits  were  not  such  as  they  ought  to  be;  and 
they  lifted  up  the  voice  of  protest,  which  was  never  hushed  during 
that  dreary  thousand  years  and  more, — a  persistent  protest,  which 
gathered  volume  till  it  forced  a  hearing,  against  the  tolerance  of 
ungodliness  in  the  Church  and  by  the  Church.     Being  a  protest 


22  Installation  of  Professor  Latimer. 

against  tlie  fruits  of  a  system  of  justification  by  works,  it  was  in- 
directly opposition  to  the  unannounced  doctrine  which  legitimated 
it. 

It  is,  as  affording  evidence  of  this  deep-seated  dissatisfaction  on 
the  part  of  God's  true  people  within  the  Church,  that  the  Mon- 
tanist,  the  Novatian  and  the  Donatist  schisms  are  of  interest  to  us. 
The  wild  extravagances  of  these  sectaries  should  not  blind  us  to 
the  fact  that  the  movement,  in  each  instance,  began  with,  and 
was  based  upon,  the  earnest  conviction  of  the  necessity  for  re- 
form in  the  discipline  of  the  Church.  Nor  must  we  suppose  that 
those  alone  who  ran  into  such  fanatical  excesses,  and  have  been 
branded  in  tlie  records  of  the  times  with  the  stigma  of  schism, 
were  concerned  in  that  protest.  He  has  read  history  to  little 
purpose  who  has  not  learned  tliat  when  great  principles  lay  strong 
hold  upon  the  feelings  of  large  masses  of  men  there  will  always 
be  those  who  carry  those  principles  to  extremes  and  run  into 
fanaticism  and  error;  and  that  these  extremists  and  their  perver- 
sion of  the  movement  are  likely  to  find  place  in  the  chronicles  of 
the  period,  wliile  no  record  is  left  of  the  fact  that  thousands  were 
involved  who  yet  refused  to  go  beyond  the  bounds  of  moderation. 
In  these  several  movements,-  then,  we  have  evidence  that  the  In- 
visible Communion  as  a  whole  was  deeply  stirred  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  visil)le  Clmrch  was  not  an  institute  of  holiness,  but 
the  opposite. 

Nor  must  we  be  misled  as  to  the  true  nature  of  the  issue  in- 
volved. It  might  appear  to  superficial  observation  tliat  those  who 
made  this  protest  against  slackness  of  discipline  were  essentially 
legalists,  while  the  Church  was  contending  for  the  principle  that 
persons  whose  lives  were  defective  might  still  sustain  a  saving  re- 
lation to  Christ: — that- man  is  not  the  judge,  but  God  alone.  Such 
a  view  is,  however,  altogether  misleading.  What  lay  behind  these 
movements,  and  gave  them  vitality  and  vigor,  was  the  conviction 
on  the  part  of  true  believers  that  such  personal  righteousness  as 
gives  proof  that  its  seat  is  in  the  heart  is  the  alone  evidence  that 
the  soul  is  resting  on  Christ  by  faith,  and  that  the  Church  was  put- 
ting Christ  and  his  righteousness  in  the  background,  and  thus  pre- 
venting access  to  the  true  fountain  of  grace.  It  was  this  which 
sustained  the  cry  in  the  centuries  which  followed  for  reform  of 
the  Church  in  head  and  members,  and  ever  added  emphasis  to  it. 


Address  of  Professor  Latimer.  23 

Although  it  seemed  to  be  the  expression  of  the  spirit  of  legalism, 
it  was  really  the  utterance  given  to  tlie  witness  of  God's  Spirit  in 
the  experience  of  the  elect  against  the  system  of  justification  by 
works,  which  had  made  legitimate  a  righteousness  of  mere  out- 
ward forms  and  ceremonies,  and  had  thus  hushed  conscience  and 
given  free  rein  to  "the  Inst  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the  eyes, 
and  the  pride  of  life." 

In  the  light  of  this  truth  alone  can  we  understand  the  history 
of  all  that  dark  period,  and  of  the  struggle  which  w^ent  forward 
through  the  century  of  reforming  councils  down  to  the  Reforma- 
tion itself. 

But  again,  this  practical  perversion  of  the  truth  on  the  part  of 
the  visible  Church  made  it  impossible  that  she  should  meet  the 
deepest  spiritual  needs  of  the  invisible  community  of  saints  within 
her.  The  dissatisfaction,  due  to  this  fact  manifested  itself  in  a 
series  of  significant  movements,  which  again  constitute  so  many 
practical  protests  against  the  fundamental  error  which  she  fostered. 

You  will  call  to  mind  the  fact  that  essentially  connected  with 
the  system  by  which  grace  was  supposed  to  be  infused  and  the 
existence  of  an  inherent  righteousness  secured  as  the  basis  of  ac- 
ceptance with  God  was  the  elevation  of  the  clergy  into  a  priest- 
hood, and  the  practical  denial  of  the  priesthood  of  all  believei-s. 
Tlius  were  the  saints  cut  off  from  direct  access  to  the  Father 
through  the  great  highpriest  of  their  profession,  and  communion 
with  the  Church  substituted  for  it.  But  such  communion  could 
not  satisfy  the  longing  of  the  truly  pious  heart  for  fellowship 
with  God;  and  hence  the  disposition  which  manifested  itself  so 
early,  on  the  part  of  men  of  devout  spirit,  to  get  away  from  the 
hindering  influence  of  the  priesthood  of  the  Church,  and  to  find 
in  solitary  places,  in  caves  of  the  earth,  and  in  the  trackless 
forests,  opportunity  for  uninterrupted  connnunion  with  heaven. 
Underneatli  the  extravagance  and  fanaticism  of  the  stylites  and 
other  hermits  lay  this  urgent  need  of  the  renewed  soul.  And 
here  again  the  fanatical  manifestation  in  tlie  actions  of  a  com- 
parative few  reveals  what  was  working  in  the  bosoms  of  thousands 
besides,  too  sober  in  spirit  for  such  excesses.  Monasticisni  itself, 
historically  connected  as  it  is  in  its  beginning  with  those  ancho- 
rites of  the  desert,  is  a  witness,  in  its  early  history,  to  the  exist- 


24  Installation  of  Pkofessor  Latimer. 

enee  of  the  same  desire  to  be  free  from  all  hindrance  to  direct 
fellowship  witli  the  Fatlier  of  spirits.  And  although,  at  a  later 
period,  the  Church,  with  the  wisdom  of  the  children  of  this  world, 
adopted  that  institution,  and  made  it  her  minister  and  ally,  we 
must  not  forget  that,  even  after  all  the  chaiiges  which  ages  had 
wrought,  it  was  not  without  a  struggle  that  it  acquiesced  in  its  new 
relations;  and  that,  in  the  time  which  followed,  the  monasteries 
were  the  refuge  of  many  devout  spirits,  who  sought  within  their 
walls  oppotunity  for  meditation  and  nearer  approach  to  heaven. 
And  those  who  fled  to  these  monasteries  left  behind  them  multi- 
tudes burdened  with  the  same  consciousness  of  needs  unmet,  and 
of  aspirations  unsatisfied.  This  was  all,  when  understood  aright, 
a  most  touching  and  pathetic  protest  against  the  priestly  incanta- 
tion, the  sacramental  grace,  and  the  plan  of  justification  by  works 
which  the  Church  had  substituted  for  the  direct  approach  of  the 
soul  by  faith  to  the  fountain  of  Christ's  blood,  and  to  a  Father 
reconciled  in  him. 

It  was  this  same  longing,  for  the  satisfaction  of  which  the 
Church  liad  nothing  to  offer,  which  manifested  itself  in  the  con- 
stantly recurring  tendency  to  mysticism  in  the  middle  ages.  If 
God's  own  appointed  way  of  approach  to  him  was  closed,  the 
soul  would  find  some  other  method  of  knowing  liim  and  drawing 
near  into  his  presence.  While  among  these  mystics  there  were 
many  wild  and  self-deceived  fanatics,  there  were  also  many  who 
could,  in  all  sincerity,  adopt  the  cry  of  the  psalmist  as  their  own: 
"As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  waterbrooks,  so  panteth  my 
soul  after  thee,  O  God.  My  soul  thirsteth  for  God,  for  the  living 
God  :  when  shall  I  come  and  appear  before  God  ?"  (Fs.  xlii.  1,  2.) 
"  O  God,  thou  art  my  God ;  early  will  I  seek  thee ;  my  soul 
thirsteth  for  thee,  in  a  dry  and  thirsty  land  where  no  water  is." 
(Fs.  Ixiii.  1.)  "I  stretch  forth  my  hands  unto  thee:  my  soul 
thirsteth  after  thee  as  a  thirsty  land."     (Fs.  cxliii.  6.) 

As  we  peer  out  into  the  darkness,  and  hear  these  plaintive 
voices  echoing  through  the  gloom,  we  may  be  tempted  to  ask: 
"  How  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true  ?"  Ah  !  my  soul,  possess  thy- 
self in  patience !  God's  good  time  shall  come.  The  protest  shall 
be  heard,  interpreted,  and  heeded. 

Again,  I  call  your  attention  to  the  significant  demand,  made 


Addeess  of  Professor  Latimer.  25^ 

over  and  over  again,  for  the  word  of  God  in  the  vernacular;  and 
the  persistent  efforts,  in  different  centuries  and  in  widelj  separated 
countries,  to  place  the  Scriptures  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  It 
was  only  another  form  of  the  protest  against  the  practical  nulli- 
fication on  the  part  of  the  Church  of  the  priesthood  of  believers, 
and  indirectly  against  her  method  of  justification  by  inherent 
righteousness  and  by  works. 

I  shall  not  enter  here  upon  the  disputed  question  of  the  origin 
of  the  Waldenses.  It  matters  not,  for  the  purpose  in  hand, 
though  it  be  admitted  that  the  history  of  this  devoted  people  can- 
not be  traced  beyond  the  twelfth  century.  It  is  well  known  that 
at  that  time,  and  ever  afterwards,  the  burden  of  the  demand  they 
made  was  for  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  the  hands  of  all,  and  in  the 
language  understood  by  all.  What  did  it  mean  but  that  the 
Church's  method  of  salvation  had  been  tried  and  found  wanting  ? 
What  did  it  mean  but  that,  when  God's  children  asked  for  bread, 
she  gave  them  a  stone  ?  It  signified  the  presence  of  a  determina- 
tion which  even  blood  could  not  drown  to  reassume  the  functions 
of  the  priestliood  of  the  saints,  and,  rejecting  Eome's  mediation,  to 
find  Christ,  the  object  of  their  faith,  in  the  Scriptures  which  testi- 
fied of  him.  It  was  for  this  that  they  contended  in  the  face  of 
untold  cruelties.  For  this  did  they  die,  those  "slaughtered  saints 
of  God  ....  whose  bones  lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains 
cold." 

I  need  only  mention  Wyclif  and  his  efforts  to  give  the  word  of 
God  to  the  people  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  the  self-denying 
labors  of  his  followers,  the  slandered  Lollards,  to  the  same  end, 
up  to  the  Reformation  period  in  England ;  nor  need  I  do  more  than 
call  the  names  of  John  Hus  and  Jerome  of  Prague,  who,  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  sealed  at  the  stake  their  devotion  to  the  same 
cause.  These  all  were  in  effect  giving  voice  to  the  one  cry,  "  The 
Church's  system  of  grace  is  no  grace.  She  hides  from  us  Christ, 
the  only  Saviour  of  sinners.  Give  us  Christ  in  his  word  that  our 
faith  may  take  hold  of  his  righteousness.  In  that  alone  can  we 
find  peace  and  reconciliation  with  God." 

And  by  the  Waldenses,  and  these  reformers  before  the  reforma- 
tion, was  united  with  that  w^hich  has  just  been  described  the  other 
form  of  protest  also,  which  had  been  gathering  force  and  weight 
as  the  centuries  came  and  went,  against  the  fruits  of  ungodliness- 


26  Installation  of  Professor  Latimer. 

fostered  by  the  Church's  scheme  of  sacramental  grace  and  work 
righteousness. 

It  may  be  thought  that  all  these  protests  of  the  Invisible  Church 
against  error  had  been  ineffectual  in  the  past,  but  they  were  not. 
It  is  the  old  story  of  half  hidden  forces  working  obscurely  and 
with  tendencies  misunderstood.  At  length  the  day  of  their  mani- 
festation was  approaching.  Rome  felt  that  it  was  coming,  and 
that  she  could  no  longer  be  indifferent.  And  now  she  who  had 
so  long  since  surrendered  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  moved  by  the 
instinct  of  self-preservation,  seized  the  axe  of  persecution,  and 
sought  to  drown  these  protests  in  blood.  It  was  her  only  resource. 
In  that  process  by  which  she  had  gradually  been  transformed 
from  the  Church  of  God  into  the  mystic  Babylon,  she  had  built 
into  her  very  structure  justification  by  works.  It  had  become 
her  life,  and  it  was  at  this  life  that  these  reformers  were  really 
striking.  She  knew  that  she  must  be  rid  of  them  or  perish  from 
the  earth. 

But  now,  at  last,  the  day  was  come  when  that  protest,  in  all  its 
forms,  was  to  be  interpreted  so  that  all  could  understand  its  true 
character  and  significance ;  and  then  the  victory,  which  had  been 
hanging  in  the  balance  for  ages,  was  won.  The  energies  of  the 
Invisible  Church,  apparently  paralyzed  in  the  grasp  of  the 
leviathan,  awoke  to  new  vigor,  and  the  long  arrested  develop- 
ment of  the  creed  was  resumed. 

I  need  not  recount  to  you  the  story  of  the  protracted  struggle  of 
the  monk  in  his  cell  at  Erfurt ;  nor  how  there  dawned  upon  him,  as 
the  result,  the  true  meaning  .of  that  scripture,  "  The  just  shall  live 
by  faith,"  and  he  found  peace  and  joy  in  the  consciousness  that 
the  righteousness  of  Christ  was  his.  Joy  was  it  indeed  to  that 
burdened  heart,  and  joy — to  the  world  !  Nor  need  I  tell  you,  for 
you  know  it  well,  how,  out  of  a  glad  experience,  he  began  to 
publish  that  truth  so  old,  and  yet  so  new  to  him,  so  new  to  others; 
nor  need  I  dwell  upon  the  circumstances  which  led  to  his  bold 
denunciation  of  the  barter  of  indulgences  for  money,  and  the 
startling  discovery  that  that  church  which  till  then  he  had  rever- 
enced and  loved,  was  fatally  wedded  to  another  gospel,  which  was 
no  gospel. 

As  we  survey  the  wonderful  results  of  the  movement  instituted 
by  this  single  man,  they  may  well  appear  to  be  effects  without  an 


Addkess  of  Professor  Latimer.  27 

adequate  cause,  until  we  recognize  the  fact  that  Luther  simply  in- 
terpreted the  consciousness  of  God's  people  to  themselves.  He 
gave  distinct  and  intelligible  enunciation  to  that  truth  which, 
present  implicitly  in  their  experience,  had  inspired  all  those  pro- 
tests in  the  past.  He  showed  them  what  the  true  nature  of  tliat 
error  was  against  which  they  had  so  long  been  contending;  and 
the  Invisible  Church  arose  in  the  might  which  a  clear  comprehen- 
sion of  the  truth  had  given  her,  and  gave  voice  to  her  witness  for 
that  truth  in  tones  of  thunder,  which  shook  Christendom  from 
centre  to  circumference. 

And  now  was  revealed  clearly  the  fact  that  Rome  was  past  re- 
formation ;  that  she  had  no  place  for  those  who  counted  all  other 
righteousness  as  lilthy  rags  but  "  the  righteousness  of  God  which 
is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ ;"  and  the  great  body  of  the  faithful 
came  ont  of  her,  to  constitute  a  new  visible  communion,  a  fitting 
outward  manifestation  of  the  communion  of  saints.  If  any  true 
believers  remained  within  her  borders — and  doubtless  some  un- 
enlightened in  the  fulness  of  the  gospel  did  remain — they  were  in 
her  as  they  were  in  the  world,  but  not  of  her ;  though  called  by 
her  name,  they  were  not  her  cliildren.  They  were  a  remnant — 
the  captive  Israel  of  God — sitting  mournfully  by  the  rivers  of 
Babylon,  with  harps  hanged  upon  the  willows,  who  might  well 
have  answered  those  who  mocked  them  with  idle  mummery  and 
required  of  them  a  song,  "  How  shall  we  sing  the  Lord's  song  in 
a  strange  land  ?"     (Psalm  cxxxvii.) 

If  we  turn  now  to  the  various  branches  of  the  true  Church, 
we  witness  an  unexampled  activity  in  the  development  of  the  creed 
in  respect  to  the  doctrines  of  grace,  so  long  obscured  by  the  sacra- 
mental system  dispensed  by  Rome.  As  that  so-called  church,  rid 
at  last  of  the  restraining  influence  of  the  Invisible  Church,  had,  in 
the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  given  explicit  statement  to 
her  errors,  thus  making  complete  and  final  her  apostasy  from  the 
truth,  so  was  that  truth,  enunciated  in  counter  statements  by  God's 
people,  henceforth  a  witness  against  the  error.  The  Invisible 
Church  once  more  exerts  her  efliciency,  and  the  creed  proceeds  to 
its  completion  as  an  adequate  statement  of  the  doctrines  revealed 
in  Scripture. 

I  know  that  there  are  facts  wliicli  show  that  all  the  people  of 
God  do  not,  even  yet,  see  eye  to  eye,  after  the  lapse  of  the  centu- 


28  Installation  of  Professok  Latimer. 

ries  which  have  passed  since  the  Reformation  period.  There  are- 
still  differences  which  need  to  be  adjusted,  and  more  than  one 
branch  of  the  true  Church  of  God  (which  shows  that  it  is  such  by 
the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  borne  by  those  who  are  its  devout  adhe- 
rents,) still  acquiesces  in  formuhe  wliich,  properly  understood,  im- 
ply semi-Pelagian  error. 

But  although  Calvinist  and  Arminian  have  not  yet  attained  to 
absolute  agreement  in  the  statement  of  all  the  doctrines  of  grace, 
that  fact  only  proves  that  there  are  difficult  speculative  problems 
involved  in  those  doctrines  which  both  have  not  solved  with  equal 
success.  The  Arminian  has  not  yet  risen  to  that  point  of  vision 
whence  he  may  see  that  the  Calvinist's  statement  of  the  doctrine 
of  inability  does  not  exclude  free  agency,  and  thus  make  insincere- 
and  meaningless  the  gospel  call  which  comes  to  every  man  alike. 
He  makes  a  protest  against  what  he  conceives  to  be  the  obscura- 
tion of  one  of  the  most  precious  of  the  truths  revealed  in  the  Word, 
of  God. 

Once  the  doctrine  of  inability,  in  all  its  relations,  rightly  appre- 
hended, serai-Pelagianism  shall  be  banished  in  word,  as  absent  ever 
in  fact,  from  the  true  Church  of  God  in  all  her  members.  And 
with  that  exclusion  nmst  come  the  recognition  of  the  truth  of  the- 
doctrine  of  God's  electing  grace,  logically  involved  in  it.  But 
already  is  it  true,  as  implied  in  what  has  just  been  said,  that  the- 
diiference  is  rather  in  word  than  in  reality.  Need  I  cite  the 
familiar  fact  that  Arminians  and  Calvinists  are  at  one  upon  their- 
knees?  They  offer  petitions  perfectly  harmonious  at  the  throne 
of  grace.  They  sing  the  same  songs.  The  great  distinctive  doc- 
trines which  we  preach  find  as  hearty  acceptance  in  Arminian 
pulpits  as  in  our  own,  when  stripped  of  that  terminology  which 
has  been  misunderstood.  No !  there  is  no  Pelagianism  in  any 
genuine  Christian  experience.  There  is  no  Pelagianism  in  the  In- 
visible Church;  and,  blessed  be  God,  the  Invisible  Church  is  not 
known  by  the  name  of  John  Calvin,  or  of  Martin  Luther,  or  of 
John  Wesley,  but  by  that  name  which  is  above  every  name — the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  because  his  Spirit  is  in  that  church,, 
we  shall  all  at  length  see  eye  to  eye,  and  speak  the  same  things, 
and  join  at  last,  with  perfectly  harmonious  voices,  in  that  glad  ac- 
claim, "Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto  Thy  name- 
give  glory,  for  Thy  mercy,  and  for  Thy  truth's  sake."    (Ps,  ex  v.  1.) 


ADDEESS 

OP 

THE  EEY  DR.  J.  J.  BULLOCK,  of  Washington,  D.  C, 

TO  THE 

Graduates  of  Union  Theological  Seminary  in  Ya., 
6th  May,  1885. 


!]VIy  Young  Brethren: 

IT  is  a  high  honor  and  a  glorious  pri\dlege  for  a  sinner  saved  by 
grace  to  be  allowed  to  preach  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  a  perish- 
dng  world.  I  trust  you  have  been  inwardly  aided  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  seek  the  office  of  the  Christian  ministry.  The  diplomas 
which  you  are  about  to  receive  certify  that  you  have  the  requisite 
education  to  enter  upon  this  work.  With  the  imprimatur  of  your 
Professors  and  of  the  Board,  of  Directors  of  tliis  Seminary,  you 
will  go  forth,  so  soon  as  you  shall  receive  authority  from  your  re- 
spective Presbjteries,  to  preach  the  gospel  to  your  dying  fellow- 
men.  Before  we  separate,  as  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors, I  would  address  you  a  few  words  of  counsel  and  of  en- 
couragement. Next  to  the  gift  of  his  Son,  the  gift  of  his  Spirit 
and  the  gift  of  his  Word,  unquestionably  the  appointment  of 
the  Christian  ministry  is  the  most  important  gift  of  God  to  his 
blood-bought  Church.  It  has  pleased  God  "by  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  to  save  them  that  believe."  "  Preach  the  gospel  to  the 
whole  world" — that  is  the  command  of  our  ascended  Lord. 
Preach  the  word;  that  is  the  great  business  of  the  Christian  min- 
ister; that  is  the  great  work  which  you  are  called  to  do.  Preach 
it  with  authority;  preach  it  with  earnestness  and  fervor,  seasoned 
with  prayer  ;  preach  it  in  all  its  purity  and  fulness ;  preach  all  its 
grand,  glorious  doctrines  of  grace,  which  stir  the  heart  and  the  con- 
science. These  great  doctrines,  accompanied  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
are  the  divinely  appointed  means  for  calling  into  operation  all 


30  Address  of  Kev.  Dr.  Bullock, 

the  mighty  energies  of  the  human  soul,  and  of  elevating,  purify- 
ing and  saving  it ;  they  are  the  great  moral  forces  that  operate 
with  tremendous  power  upon  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  all-powerful  agent,  and  divine  truth  is  the 
grand  instrumentality  for  the  conversion  and  salvation  of  men. 
The  Word  of  God,  especially  the  doctrine  of  Christ  and  him  cru- 
cified, is  the  instrument  which  the  Holy  Ghost  employs  to  work 
faith  in  the  heart,  and  the  growth  of  the  soul  in  spiritual  life  is 
nourished  through  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  "The  Word  of 
God  is  quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword, 
piercing  even  to  the  dividing  assunder  of  the  soul  and  the  spirit, 
and  the  joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart ;''  and  the  faith  which  justifies  and  saves  is  no 
lifeless,  inoperative  thing,  but  a  mighty  power,  "  which  works  by 
love,  purifies  the  heart,  and  overcomes  the  world."  How  sub- 
limely simple,  yet  how  gloriously  effective,  is  the  gospel  scheme 
for  the  redemption  and  salvation  of  men !  Our  religion  is  no 
cold,  lifeless,  heartless  theory,  no  mere  matter  of  outward  form 
and  routine;  no  drivelling  superstition,  but  a  spiritual,  sublime, 
glorious  system  of  truth  and  doctrine,  worthy  of  its  divine  au- 
thor, and  suited  to  elevate,  to  sanctify  and  save  all  those  who  are 
wise  enough  to  receive  it.  It  is  not  only  a  perfect  system  of 
truth,  but  also  a  divine  life  in  the  soul,  working  mightily  to  bring 
every  faculty  and  emotion  into  subjection  to  the  law  of  God,  and 
to  bring  men  into  the  closest  union  and  sympathy  with  Christ 
and  his  cause.  "  The  gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation 
to  every  one  that  believeth."  That  is  the  testimony  of  the  great 
apostle  who  was  inspired  of  God  to  give  it,  and  who  had  experi- 
mental knowledge  of  its  saving  power;  and  God's  word  has  gone 
forth  respecting  the  final  triumph  of  Clirist's  kingdom:  its 
bounds  are  to  be  commensurate  with  the  habitable  globe. 

Brethren,  we  are  engaged  in  no  doubtful  contest.  We  fight 
under  a  victorious  leader.  All  power  is  put  in  his  hands.  Tlie 
gospel  wielded  by  the  Divine  Spirit  has  demonstrated  its  all-con- 
quering power.  It  saved  Saul  of  Tarsus,  Mary  Magdalene,  the 
great  Augustine,  John  Newton,  Jolm  Bunyan,  and  you  and  me. 
Hold  fast,  brethren,  to  God's  plan  of  salvation.  It  is  a  perfect 
plan.  It  is  incapable  of  amendment.  It  is  suited  to  our  mental 
and  moral  nature,  and  to  all  the  exigencies  of  our  sinful,  fallen 


To  THE  Graduates  of  1885.  31 

state.  God  has  declared  it, — the  world  is  to  be  subdued  to  Christ 
by  the  power  of  the  gospel.  We  are  to  "  conquer  by  the  word  of 
God,  and  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  We  have  unbounded  confidence 
and  absolute  faith  in  this  divinely  appointed  plan.  We  need  no 
new  truths  to  tell;  no  new  weapons  of  offence;  no  new  command- 
ments to  impose.  What  we  need  is  constant  baptisms  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  to  give  us  a  deeper  conviction  of  eternal  things,  of  the 
stupendous  realities  of  gospel  truth,  and  a  more  absorbing  love 
for  Christ  and  for  souls.  What  is  needed  in  the  ministry  is  men 
mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  educated,  trained  men,  of  deep  humility 
and  devotion  of  spirit,  of  intense  earnestness  and  instant  in  prayer, 
of  strong  faith,  of  sterling  intregity,  of  good  common  sense,  and 
full  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  men  like  Paul  and  his  fellow-apostles ; 
like  the  early  reformers;  .like  Whitfield  and  the  Wesley s;  like 
Edwards  and  Davies,  or  like  the  living  Spurgeon.  Tlie  great 
secret  of  this  man's  wonderful  power  as  a  preacher  is  his  deep 
awful  earnestness,  his  ardent  love  to  Christ,  with  a  j)assionate  long- 
ing for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  uncompromising  allegiance  to 
the  great  doctrines  of  grace.  One  word  more  before  I  close. 
Illustrate  in  your  own  lives  the  power  and  excellence  of  the  re- 
ligion which  you  recommend  to  others.  Follow  after  whatever 
tilings  are  true,  and  honest,  and  just,  and  pure,  and  lovely,  and  of 
good  report.  Be  true  to  your  God,  be  true  to  your  covenant 
vows,  be  true  to  yourselves,  and  God  will  bless  you,  and  will  make 
you  a  great  blessing  to  the  Church  and  to  the  world,  and  when 
you  come  to  stand  before  the  bar  of  final  judgment,  you  will  hear 
the  joyful  plaudit  from  the  lips  of  the  great  Judge,  "Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servants,  enter  ye  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord." 


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